Essential Beginnings (12 page)
Jeremy, who was the son of Marvin Jenkins, reached out to steady Elijah. Ernie did the same with Mabel. The vibrations slowly evaporated, leaving everyone breathless, frightened, and irrevocably grateful that they were still alive. Everyone desperately focused on the television once the sound dissipated to see if any other visuals would return. Mav understood the need to see your enemy, so he focused on the screen as well. The camera was still focused on the newscaster who was currently trying to compose himself. The man’s face was pale and it appeared that he was quite shaken, as were the rest of them.
“Folks, what you just saw was the Yellowstone Caldera erupting. I don’t know how much longer we will have to bring you coverage. If what the geologists say is true, the eruption of the caldera will put between four hundred and six hundred and fifty cubic miles of debris in the earth’s atmosphere. That will cause a volcanic winter to descend on the northern hemisphere for as long as ten years. The ash from the eruption will fall over nearly the entire continental United States, thick enough to collapse most wooden structures, especially if the ash was to get wet. Breathing the ash into your lungs will cause you to asphyxiate as it absorbs the moisture in your lungs and hardens like cement. Please make every reasonable effort to move to a safe location to ride out the national emergency before us all. We will now attempt to return you to the coverage we have available. We are switching over to the operation feeds we have nearest the park and…”
Mav didn’t need to hear the newscaster’s description. It was there for all to see on the little twenty-two inch tube television, even with cracks in the screen on the other end that must have come from the initial explosion. Grey ash had already been shot into the sky as far as one could see, merging with the clouds and funneling out until it shaded out the blue filament. The vivid orange of the lava now joined the covering mass of residue, bubbling and sending massive balls of fire into the air with a force that a human couldn’t possibly contemplate. The destruction left behind wasn’t visible, but maybe that was a good thing. It left little doubt that the people of Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho didn’t stand a chance to survive. Suddenly static filled the screen and it was apparent they’d already lost the satellite feed. Mav stroked his hand up and down Henley’s back, needing comfort from what they’d just witnessed as well. The loss of life was never easy to witness.
“Henley, I want you to get up to the lodge now. Ernie and I will meet you up there, but that’s the safest place for you to be. Make sure you have your level action Remington with you and plenty of ammunition.” Mav could hear Ernie giving instructions and those that were in the diner were heeding his advice for the most part. Sheriff Ramsey and the mayor were backing him up and giving orders to those that had the ability to help. It was times like these that society sought out leaders and the residents had lucked out. Ernie “Tank” Yates was one of the best and Mav would follow that man to the end of the earth, which might be sooner than any of them wanted. “The wind is in our favor, so that will give us more lead time.”
“I’m not leaving the town,” Henley argued, stepping back far enough so that Mav’s arms fell to his sides. She waved a hand toward the counter in despair while determination settled into her beautiful features. “Elijah is eighty-two years old, Mav. He’ll need help, along with Mrs. Welsh, Mr. Roberts, and Mr. Powell.”
Mav wasn’t going to get Henley to change her mind, so he hastily considered their options before implementing some instructions. According to Ernie’s previous calculations they still had time as long as the wind coordinates stayed in their favor. What the town needed was an emergency evacuation plan should things change.
“Fine,” Mav declared, making a decision that he hoped he wouldn’t regret. “Get everyone over to the Village Community Center. Send Jeremy house to house if you have to and don’t let him forget to retrieve Mrs. Welsh’s portable oxygen tank.”
Mav signaled to Ernie, who was still speaking with the diners. The best course of action right now was to treat this like a military mission. Once the facts were known they would then be able to give the residents an informed opinion on the best course of action. He just hoped like hell there was one available.
“Henley is going to round everyone up and have them meet us at the community center,” Mav advised Ernie as both of them walked out of the diner and into the bright sun leaving behind Henley, the sheriff, and the mayor to see to it that those behind would be walked over to the meeting site. It was still relatively cool since the average temperature in April was in the mid-fifties, but it was hard to believe that over eight hundred miles away Yellowstone was going to take that away from them and plunge them into a cold, dark winter for years to come. “I still think our safest bet is to get them over the Canadian line and move them as far north as humanly possible. We’re taking a chance by staying here.”
“Son, you and I both know that we can’t outrun this.” Ernie squinted his eyes as he looked across the road to the line of small shops. “This will test our wills and bring out our true colors. We either survive as a group or disintegrate one by one.”
“What are you saying, Tank?” To Mav it sounded as if Ernie wasn’t willing to fight against the fate they’d been dealt. It was unlike the man and Mav refused to believe he wasn’t willing to find a way to survive. He stepped in front of him, cutting off Tank’s path to the right. “A thick cloud of ash will descend right over us if the wind shifts. If the winds maintain their direction as of right now, I figure we have roughly a week before the ash travels the globe and ends up right here in Lost Summit. You even said so yourself. Either way we’re better north than we are here. The bunker the guys and I helped you build would only give us a few months of survival based on the amount of people here and then what? It would be impossible to travel with that much ash coating the area. And that’s just a handful of us. Are you willing to choose who lives and who dies?”
“I don’t think we’ll have to,” Ernie replied in a vague manner, motioning toward the post office. The patrons of the diner started to file out, following Henley past them on the sidewalk. Jeremy turned left to where the majority of the town’s small residential area was located. Mav felt naked without his weapon, so he opened the back of his Jeep Rubicon all the while keeping his eyes and ears trained on Ernie. “I want to grab some more maps from the post office to see what we’re looking at, but our town is located in a valley with its own natural resources. We have natural springs for water, lakes for fishing, a running river, and hardworking people to sustain a safe environment.”
“For ten years? What about the ash? It’ll eventually make its way into the lakes and rivers.” Mav could see where Ernie was going with this, but they’d have to convince the people in Lost Summit. They would need definitive proof or some of these residents would panic and head for the hills. He unlocked the safety box he used to store his service weapon and then fastened the brown leather holster over his shoulder. “Tank, we shouldn’t be the ones to make that call unless we’re damn sure we can stay here and survive.”
“I am sure, son. I put away more than you know. There have been some changes since you last saw the bunker and the latest improvements make it nearly self-sustaining for an extended period,” Ernie said with conviction, not taking his eyes off of Mabel as she trailed Elijah, who was using his cane for balance. The majority of the residents were over sixty years old and it finally hit Mav that Ernie had taken that into consideration. They wouldn’t have the wherewithal to travel the distance needed for additional safety. Vehicles would only get them so far before the ash arrived and left them stranded. “It’s only a matter of time before we lose contact with the rest of the world. Make what phone calls you have to and I’ll meet you over at the Village Community Center. We’ll need all the help we can get to convince the people to stay.”
H
enley had managed
to gather most of the residents at the community center, thanks to the help of Jeremy. She had done an informal head count and they were currently missing Lola Murray and her daughter. The two women ran the Summit Inn together, although they rarely had occupants out of season. She was afraid to stop and catch her breath for fear of the situation becoming too overwhelming. The world as they knew it was over as of twenty minutes ago. She shook that thought away as she headed for the exit of the community center.
Sheriff Ramsey had been looking over maps to create a plan of survival, but now Ernie was trying to tell him they already had one. She hadn’t caught sight of Mav since they’d been at the diner, but she wasn’t worried that he’d gone and left them to fend on their own. He would never leave Ernie, or the town for that matter. He was a man of integrity and she didn’t doubt that now, although she’d been damn slow in getting to that realization.
“Jeremy, I’m running back over to the inn,” Henley said, thinking of the items that Ernie and the sheriff might need. Her mind had been spinning since she’d seen the news and she still couldn’t quite believe this was happening, regardless that she’d known deep down this was a real possibility. A disaster on this scale wasn’t easy to comprehend, but she had a feeling they would all get a better look at what a true catastrophe was up close and personal before this was over. She was terrified, but she wouldn’t show her fear to those who needed hope. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. Please do your best to keep everyone inside.”
Henley pulled a hair tie out of the front pocket of her jeans and gathered her hair back as she walked through the open door. Keeping herself busy was keeping her from facing the horror that was surely coming their way. Elijah had wanted to be positioned by the door so that he could see outside, so the entrance was now being held open by a rubber doorstopper as he sat just inside the doorframe. He’d nodded her way, his solemn grey eyes immediately returning to stare at the sky to the southeast. She tamped down her fear of the unknown and started to jog toward the post office.
Henley veered right instead of walking left onto Main Street and entered the empty post office. She didn’t think twice about walking around the wooden counter to where a portable multi-band radio sat underneath on a shelf. It couldn’t hurt to have another one. It had been there from the time she was a child and its newer replacement had still been there when she’d returned home from California. Grabbing ahold of the black cord, she yanked on it until the prongs came out of the socket and she was able to gather the little black radio into the crook of her arm.
Henley stood and gasped when she saw someone on the other side of the counter. She almost dropped the radio but managed to catch it just in time. She brought it close to her chest as she tried to even out her breathing.
“What the hell, Mav?” Henley snapped, walking to the side and throwing the half door open a little harder than necessary. She was already skittish about what they could expect at any moment. She didn’t need any stress added on. “You scared the shit out of me.”
“Sorry,” Mav said, not sounding apologetic in the least. He’d armed himself and currently had his cell phone in his hand. Henley thought of her modeling days and how shallow that lifestyle had been, already knowing that a lot of them wouldn’t survive the devastation that was about to arrive on their doorstep. She’d never been more grateful for her decision to move back home when she did, even though her parents were no longer alive. “I saw you walking in here and wanted to make sure you were okay. Is everyone at the community center?”
“Nearly, but I need to go over to the inn.” Henley handed off the radio when he held out his hand. It amazed her to find that even with everything going on she could still focus on the warmth his fingers spread to hers. The defenses she’d put up were no longer there and she would have liked nothing better than to walk back into his arms like she’d done at the diner. She walked away instead and pushed open the door faster than she normally would have and cringed when she wasn’t sure what she’d find. The sky was still clear and she breathed deeply, taking advantage of every clean inhalation she could. “I’ll meet you over at the center. I want to make sure Lola and her daughter heard about what happened.”
“I just came from there. They’re walking over now and will join the others in a minute.” Mav nodded toward their left and Henley was able to see Lola and Missy walking towards the building. “I also stopped by the hardware store to make sure Mr. Jenkins wasn’t taking his sweet old time. Jeremy did a good job notifying the town.”
“How could anyone miss what happened?” Henley asked, figuring the entire country felt the eruption. She shielded her eyes as she looked toward the sky, but so far there was no ash to be seen. Mav was a lot like Ernie and wouldn’t sugarcoat anything, so she asked him point blank. “What are our chances?”
“At this point?” Mav started walking and Henley fell into step beside him. The sun’s rays were warm, but next week? They’d be lucky if it wasn’t below freezing. “Ernie’s right. Going over our options…our best chance might be to stay here, but it’s not like we won’t be touched by what’s coming our way. We’ll just have it slightly better, which will improve our odds of survival.”